Scott Molander was named the next president of Dickinson State University. (Photo provided by North Dakota University System)
By: Jeff Beach
DICKINSON, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – The State Board of Higher Education has selected a Dickinson State University alumnus with a long business resume as the next president of the college.
Scott Molander was selected Thursday from a field of four finalists.
Molander’s resume lists him as the co-founder of Hat World Inc. as the managing partner of Garage Living and SKINS Compression and an adjunct professor at Butler University in Indiana.
SKINS Compression makes athletic wear; Garage Living specializes in garage remodels.
At Butler, he is a lecturer on entrepreneurship and innovation at the Lacy School of Business.
During a community forum as part of the search, he was asked why he wanted to leave the private sector for higher education.
“I’m in the fourth quarter of my life. Let’s do something that matters,” Molander said. “I love this place.”
He said he will be an active recruiter for Dickinson State.
“I am going to be out and visible,” Molander said during the forum. “One of the things we have is a little bit of an image problem. … The education is here.”
Molander grew up on a farm near Stanley. He earned an associate degree from University of North Dakota-Williston, now Williston State College, in 1985, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Dickinson State in 1988. He played college basketball at Williston and Dickinson.
He earned a master’s in business administration from Indiana State University in 2016.
Molander will start July 1. He has been offered a salary of $263,815, according to the University System.
Ty Orton, executive director of the Dickinson State University Heritage Foundation, has been serving as acting president.
He replaces Stephen Easton, who resigned last summer as the school’s nursing faculty resigned.
Molander has served on the DSU Heritage Foundation Board and has earned the North Dakota Business Innovator of the Year Award.
Dickinson State was the only campus in the North Dakota University System to report a decrease in enrollment last fall. It reported 1,410 students in fall 2024 compared to 1,453 in fall 2023.
“My focus will always be on people,” Molander said in a news release. “Teamwork is everything and together, we need to build partnerships within the community. Collaboration with our University System institutions is key.”
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